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‘70% of Rajanpur people don’t have access to clean water’
SAMAA | Ilyas Gabol - Posted: Oct 19, 2019 |
At least 0.7 million people in Rajanpur have no access to clean drinking water, according to a report by the Water Training Lab.
A test, which was conducted two months ago, revealed that the city’s underground water is getting mixed with sewerage water because 70% of the water becomes contaminated.
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70% OF RAJANPUR PEOPLE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER’
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: OCT 19, 2019 |
At least 0.7 million people in Rajanpur have no access to clean drinking water, according to a report by the Water Training Lab.
A test, which was conducted two months ago, revealed that the city’s underground water is getting mixed with sewerage water because 70% of the water becomes contaminated.
Even floodwater gets mixed with this contaminated water, said Dr Imran Qamar, the in-charge of lab.
The city’s sole filtration plant has broken down making the lives of people more difficult.
“Our inefficient sewerage system is a big reason for the pollution of water,” the doctor claimed.
People from the area claim that there’s no water in the Dajal Canal and the water underground in undrinkable. “The water we consume is from nearby ponds and it is contaminated as well. This water exposes us to several diseases,” a person complained.
“Water is a basic need. It is a matter of life and death,” one of the locals said.
In Pachad Town, there is a severe shortage and people have no other option than to drink water from contaminated ponds, they claimed.
As a result, locals have been diagnosed with different diseases such as muscle slacking, nausea, diarrhea, skin cancer, weak joints, dental floss, and other abnormal diseases, according to Dr Qamar.
Locals have asked the authorities to install water schemes and filtration plants that will give them access to clean drinking water.
Water schemes for the provision of clean water in the city have failed to reap results, said Deputy Commissioner Rana Muhammad Afzal Nasir. “Orders to restore these schemes have been passed and other actions are being taken to provide safe water to locals,” he added.
RAJANPUR GIRLS FIGHT AGAINST ALL ODDS TO GO TO SCHOOL
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: OCT 19, 2019 |
Girls in different parts of Rajanpur have been fighting against all odds to pursue their education and go to school.
There are only 1,735 students in 402 girls’ schools in the district comprising two million people. It has a total of 951 schools.
Last year, the women students outperformed the male students at their matric examinations. The average pass percentage for young women was 87.81, while it was 84.55% for the boys.
Gender bias has proven to be a big hurdle in the way of education for many students.
Shahnaz, who studies in eight grade, wants to appear for her papers but her family has stopped her from going to school. “I want to study and give my examinations but my parents are very poor and they can’t afford my education.” Her parents want to save money for educating her brothers.
Rubina Shaheen, a teacher, said that the parents just want their sons to get educated. They plan to send their boys to schools in other cities but they tend to forget about their daughters, she added.
Another problem is underage marriage. Girls are stopped from going to schools because they are married off at a young age, said Yousaf Gabol, a sardar of a local village.
Access to basic facilities is another barrier. Many schools for girls don’t have electricity, toilets, walls, and clean drinking water. Yet, many girls continue to go to these schools hoping for a better future themselves.
Ghulam Farooq Alvi, an employee of the education department, said that they received Rs46 million funds from the government this year. We want to use the funds to improve structure of some dangerous buildings, and install missing facilities such as air conditioners and fans in some schools.
We will utilise this budget and make sure that public schools have all basic facilities, he added.
‘MORE THAN 0.2M WOMEN IN RAJANPUR DON’T HAVE IDENTITY CARDS’
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: AUG 29, 2019 |
More than 200,000 women don’t have identity cards in Rajanpur district, according to a representative of the Punjab social welfare department.
A seminar was held in Rajanpur where social welfare officials spoke about the importance of identity cards.
Coordinator Shahnaz Akbar gave the figure and said that many women face problems because they have been denied their basic right. Having CNICs is necessary for women as it gives them the right to inherit property, cast their vote and access health benefits among other things. If a woman doesn’t have an identity card, it means that her children won’t either, Akbar said.
Some people don’t want women to get CNICs so that their remain deprived of their basic rights, she claimed.
The Election Commission, political parties and relevant institutions should work with women to make sure that they are issued identity cards, Akbar added.
Deputy Commissioner Rana Afzal Nasir was present during the seminar too.
NO POLIO CASES DETECTED IN RAJANPUR SINCE 2012: AUTHORITIES
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: SEP 23, 2019 |
Punjab’s Rajanpur district is on its way to becoming completely polio-free. Authorities say there have been no polio cases detected in the district since 2012.
They attribute this to thorough vaccination campaigns in the district. Even now, more than 400,000 children will be immunised against the polio virus, according to polio control room in-charge and Rajanpur District Health Officer Dr Ali Hashim.
The WHO has been carrying out environmental sampling of the soil every month to detect the virus. Up until August, each sample has tested negative for the virus.
Despite occupational security risks, polio workers in the district remain dedicated to eliminating the disease. They say their supervisors and senior officers supported them greatly, even providing additional security.
Meanwhile, those affected by the virus in their childhood are now forced to live difficult lives.
Shaheena, a woman who has polio, said that the disease affected her when she was seven and she lost function of her entire lower body. She lives with her parents and is worried about who will take care of her after they pass away.
Muhammad Saddam, who also contracted the disease in his childhood, says that soon after the illness, he lost function of one of his legs. He wants to study for his master’s degree to become a teacher and be able to train future generations. Saddam doesn’t see his disability as an obstacle.
Even though the district has been free of polio, polio teams are still following strict control measures to make sure there is no outbreak in the future.
MAN ARRESTED FOR MARRYING TEENAGE STEPDAUGHTER IN RAJANPUR
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: SEP 16, 2019 |
A man has been arrested for marrying his 14-year-old stepdaughter in Rajanpur.
The teen came to the City police station and recorded her statement.
She said that her mother had married a man named Ashraf, adding that he used to rape her every day. She told her mother this, after which she was forced to marry Ashraf.
The police have taken her under their protection and registered an FIR, which says that the complainant is 18 or 19 years. The teen’s birth certificate, however, says that she is 14 years.
DPO Haroon Rasheed Khan said that a case has been registered and the suspect has been arrested.
Further investigation is under way and her medical test is being conducted.
NINE-YEAR-OLD BEATEN AND CHAINED IN RAJANPUR FOR ‘STEALING’ MEMORY CARD
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: SEP 14, 2019 |
A nine-year-old boy was beaten up and chained for alleged theft in Rajanpur.
The people who locked him up have been taken into custody and the police say an investigation is under way.
The boy, identified as Hanif, was beaten, chained and his face blackened for allegedly stealing a memory card.
The area’s DPO said they wont tolerate any abuse of children and that action against the people involved is under way.
INQUIRY INITIATED AGAINST RAJANPUR MAN FOR SELLING WOMAN
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: JUL 27, 2019
A feudal lord sold a woman for Rs1.3 million in Rajanpur’s tribal area on Saturday.
He accused the woman, a mother of three, of karo-kari.
She, however, managed to escape into a nearby field where she spent the night to protect herself and her children. She approached law enforcers at the Commandant BMP office the next morning and filed a complaint against the man who sold her and his accomplices.
Commandant BMP Mansoor Baloch said they have received a complaint from the woman and an inquiry has been initiated against the accused. She will be given protection, Baloch said.
FARMERS WANT AN END TO POLICE ‘OPERATIONS’ IN RAJANPUR
SAMAA | ILYAS GABOL - POSTED: APR 10, 2019 |
Every year the police launches an operation against dacoits in Rajanpur’s catchment (kacha) areas and every year they leave with arms full of wheat and no arrests.
Over 500 policemen from Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan laid siege to the area for three days from April 4 to April 7. Residents were evacuated and when they came back they found their wheat and animals missing.
The dacoits, including Baba Long, managed to evade the police and escape via the Indus River. When the police left the scene, they took with them tractors and sacks of wheat. The stock they confiscated the police cordon via Indus River. To wrap up the operation, police took away tractor trolleys packed with wheat sacks.
Residents don’t believe the timing of the raids is coincidental. They always coincide with the wheat-cutting season.
Related: Rajanpur hostage situation: Families yearn for loved ones’ return
“Some black sheep in the police force leak intelligence to the dacoits before the operation,” said one resident. This is thievery disguised as an operation, he said, adding that when they return home after the operation, they find that their wheat and animals are missing.
Another farmer told SAMAA TV that he doesn’t believe any operation takes places at all. The fact is that their only aim is to take our wheat crop, he said.
The police aren’t able to account for the confiscated wheat or provide records of it.
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammed Mazari said the operation should be launched in complete honesty. “The operation should be well planned. The police should be well equipped,” he told SAMAA TV.
“The elements that spoil the atmosphere here should be completely eliminated. We need the local people’s help for this.”
He said the dacoits’ informers should be found and penalized.
Related: Watch: Karachi policeman extorts money from shopkeeper
When asked about the timing of the operation, Mazari said a meeting was recently held on this topic. “I talked to an officer about the issue. We will ensure that the owners get their wheat back.”
I believe lists are being compiled and they will soon be given their wheat back, Mazari said.
The kacha area, along the Indus River, has become a no-go area for the police over the years. Dacoits have made the area their hideout and operate freely. In Rajanpur, the kacha area comprises Kacha Jamal, Kacha Jamal-2, Kacha Mianwali, Chak Belay Shah, Chak Imrani, and Patan Lundan.
The problem has been around since 2002. Ever since the arrest of the Chhotu gang, several other groups, including the Putt gang, Lathani gang, Doda Lund gang, Sakhani gang and Imrani gang, have solidified their footholds in the area.
In 2014, the police paid a fine of Rs12 million for stealing wheat under the guise of an operation.
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